The stem-cell breakthrough doesn't make up for six years of hypocrisy and lost research

No one is happier than I am about the latest development in stem-cell research. Scientists in Japan and Wisconsin have independently figured out how to turn ordinary human skin cells into something like pluripotent stem cells. These are the cells that have caused so much excitement in recent years because they are like a biological gift certificate that can be turned into other kinds of cells as needed. These cells have also produced much controversy because they are derived from human embryos. I have the disease  Parkinson's  for which stem cells hold the most immediate promise. The hope is...